Hobart Single Malt Whisky Chardonnay Cask Finish

Number five for Hobart this evening and another as of yet unreleased finish. This one, Chardonnay finish. Apparently this is due to release later this year and that is the entire limit of what I know as I dive into this with an air of ignorance and a growing feeling of inebriation! N: Light and herbal/floral. Plenty of grassy and hay-bale notes lead the way. A slight oat and apple skins. I think there is some barrel char maybe, perhaps this is the ‘raw’ element that came with the label for this unfinished liquid. The malt is toasty and errs towards a milk bread type softness. I quite like the simplicity, it feels refined rather than basic. P: Big and bold there is plenty of bright fresh maltiness, green grassiness and sweet peach. A juicy texture with more toasted notes and a vanilla caramel comes creeping in the back end. The barrel spice is a little strong delivering waves of pepper and perhaps some chilli heat. A little raw I think, but I don’t mind it. F: Long. Butter and milk, milk and butter. White grapes and honeydew melon with oak and a spicy lift. A dash of water and things meld into a buttery white grape rich malty and silky liquid. Everything rough and raw is tamed but the trade off is a unifying meld rather than an amplification. Unique notes become slightly muted, but not in a subtractive way. The caramel extends to the finish and the spice calms. Again, as for the unfinished Muscat finish, there is possibly something really enjoyable waiting to hit the shelves. It has me excited for another chardonnay cask I have in on my samples shelf to enjoy in a month or two. I’m thinking that all the accolades Hobart whisky have won might be deserved, there is something special going on here. Distiller whisky taste: #195 Note that prices are for 500 ml bottle. [No rocks, do not have the energy for thinking about six captions in one sitting this evening]. Hobart distillery running scores Signature Batch (#14): 2.75/5 Muscat Cask Finish: 2.75/5 Botrytis Cask Finish: 4.5/5 Pinot Noir Cask: 3/5 Chardonnay Cask Finish: 4/5